Katelyn
by This-is-my-designx
Summary: Ok so I had this dream about Alaric last night and decided to put it into a story. So this is about Alaric and the girl he was with just before Isobel.
1. Chapter 1

**Duke University, 2001.**

"Alaric!"

Alaric looked up from the book he had been furiously studying to find Katelyn, the most beautiful - in his opinion, anyway - girl in his year at college. Katelyn had long, thick, dark hair that fell to her waist in loose curls, bright green eyes and a slender body. Alaric had been all but infatuated with her since their first meeting; Alaric and Katelyn had met at the beginning of term when Katelyn had been staggering back to her dorm one night, intoxicated. She'd twisted her heel and fallen over. Alaric, who had been walking past at the time and had hastened to help her and despite her drunken state, she had remembered Alaric the next day when she'd seen him in the library. She'd given him a friendly smile and Alaric had felt himself falling hard.

It was an unusual friendship to say the least. Alaric wasn't popular like Katelyn, but he wasn't unpopular either. He had friends and people tended to like him, but he wasn't in the same league as Katelyn. Katelyn was outgoing, impulsive, an avid party-goer and enjoyed taking risks. Alaric, on the other hand, was quiet, sensible and made an effort to study and keep on top of his work.

Katelyn was well aware of Alaric's feelings for her. Their friendship had, somewhere along the line, developed into something more. They didn't consider themselves a couple, or atleast Katelyn didn't, but they weren't just friends either. Whether Katelyn returned Alaric's feelings or not, he didn't know. Katelyn would dismiss any attempt to discuss their relationship or any conversation that strayed too close to how she felt about him. Alaric's friends had once suggested that she was using him because he was clever, but this didn't make sense because so was she, and not once had she asked him to help her with her work.

Because Alaric was so in love with Katelyn, he didn't mind her impulsive, childish nature. In fact, he liked it. On the other hand, her impulsive nature meant that Katelyn would go out and get drunk, or go out and take drugs on frequent occasions. He hated watching her come in after a night out, hungover. It felt like he was watching her ruin her life, powerless to stop her.

Right now, she seemed to be sober. She was dressed in leggins and a long top and her hair was pulled back into a messy pony tail. Alaric couldn't help the smile that came to his lips at the sight of her. Katelyn sat down next to him and used her right hand to caress his jaw and pull his face round so that he was facing her. She very lightly brushed her lips against his in a teasing manner. He knew that move, she wanted something and she was trying to soften him up before she asked.

"Whatcha doing?" She asked cheerily, glancing at the books that Alaric had set out across the table.

"Studying." He replied quietly, giving her a small smile.

"Boring." It was ok for her, Alaric thought, being clever seemed to come effortlessly to her. "Hey," She started, as though she had just remembered something. Alaric suppressed a smirk, here it was. "There's a party tonight. You wanna go?" She asked him, using her most persuasive tone of voice. She pressed her lips to his again, grinning. Alaric groaned and pulled back. "I can't. I have tons of work to do."

"Please?" Katelyn pleaded, widening her eyes innocently and adopting the 'puppy-dog look'.

Alaric sighed in frustration. "I can't, Kate."

Katelyn pulled away and rested her head against her hand. "You never come out, Rick!" Katelyn whined, reaching out to take Alaric's hand. She threaded her fingers between his in an attempt to persuade him to come out.

"That's because my idea of fun is not the same as yours." Alaric replied, pulling their intertwined hands up to his mouth so that he could kiss Katelyn's hand.

"But I'll be there so we can have fun together!"

"I'm sorry Kate, I can't."

Katelyn pulled her hand from Alaric's in annoyance. Alaric braced himself, he hoped she wasn't going to throw a tantrum. "Fine." She muttered, turning away from him.

"I don't get why you're so bothered, Kate. It's not like I'm your boyfriend." Alaric snapped, annoyed at Katelyn's reaction.

"You're right." She replied shortly, getting to her feet. "Have fun studying."

Alaric watched as Katelyn stormed off. He sighed to himself but refused to let himself get worked up over it. They had arguments like this all the time. Katelyn's erratic temperament demanded it. She'd be fine in a day or two.

Despite this fact, Alaric couldn't help checking his phone every now and then, hoping that he'd get a call from Katelyn, or at least a text, but nothing.

For the tenth time in the past half hour, Alaric checked his phone again, sighing at the blank screen.

"You expecting a call?"

Alaric glanced up to see a dark haired girl sitting down opposite. It was Isobel, Katelyn's roommate.

"Katelyn." Alaric replied in explanation.

"Ahhh. Yeah she seemed pretty pissed earlier. Did you guys have an argument?"

Alaric shrugged. "Kind of."

"Don't worry about it. She'll drink until she passes out tonight, come home sometime in the afternoon with a hangover and forgive you." Isobel said kindly with a smile.

Isobel was beautiful, Alaric thought to himself, but people seemed to overlook her because she wasn't as outgoing as Katelyn.

Alaric and Isobel stayed in the library talking for hours. Alaric forgot all about his work that needed to be done and, more importantly, Katelyn. It was the early hours of the morning when they realised how long they'd been talking.

"Wow, I should really be heading back." Isobel said, hitching her bag onto her shoulder and standing up.

"You want me to walk you back?" Alaric offered.

Isobel hesitated. "Sure." She said with a smile.

Alaric gathered his books together and forced them into his bag before standing up. They walked through the cold streets towards Isobel's building talking about what they were studying. Isobel, as it turned out, was studying parapsychology.

"Yeah, all that stuff about vampires fascinates me." She said lightly to which Alaric laughed. Vampires, it was amazing what some people would believe in.

They arrived outside Isobel and Katelyn's room - Alaric knew only too well where it was having been in there plenty of times - and Alaric found himself not wanting to part with Isobel. Isobel was so different from Katelyn and he liked it. They stared at each other for a long moment and Alaric found himself inching towards her. Isobel didn't seem to mind. Once they got close enough, Isobel leant forwards and pressed her lips to Alaric's before pulling back and watching him nervously.

"Would you like to come inside?" She asked, still surveying him with a worried expression.

"I'd love to." Alaric replied with a grin.

A smile broke through Isobel's worried exterior and she turned to open the door and let them both in. He glanced over at Katelyn's side of the room which was surprisingly neat given her personality, except for the bed which was strewn with clothes and makeup. Alaric felt a pang of guilt for what he was doing before deciding to ignore it. It wasn't like Katelyn was his girlfriend, right? It wasn't like she particularly cared about him, either. His friends were right, he thought bitterly, Katelyn had been using him.

Alaric awoke in the morning alone in Isobel's bed. He sat up and ran a hand through his hair, waiting for all the amazing memories from the night before to come rushing back.

"Good morning." Came Isobel's voice. She was coming out of their ensuite wearing only silk robe.

"Hey," he replied, giving her a tired smile.

"I was gonna take a shower, but you can go first if you like?"

"No, it's fine." Alaric said, getting up from under the covers. "You can go first."

"Ok," Isobel replied, giving him a light kiss on the lips before hurrying back into the ensuite.

Alaric wandered over to Katelyn's bed, the guilt that he had felt last night coming back to him. She was erratic, impulsive and crazy, but he loved her for it. He had hoped, long ago, that she'd felt the same. Maybe she did like him, but she'd never love him the way he loved her, he thought to himself sadly. He thought back to his night with Isobel, he could see himself with Isobel in a relationship that was more than what he had with Katelyn. Obviously they'd have to talk to Katelyn about it first - that was a conversation he wasn't looking forward to having. He made his way back over to Isobel's bed and sat down. He glanced at the clock, it was 10:30am. He wasn't worried about Katelyn coming back, she often didn't return home until the afternoon.

Famous last words. Mere moments after the thought had presented itself in Alaric's mind, Katelyn came falling through the door still half drunk. Her hair was tousled and her make-up smudged. She was still wearing last nights clothes and looked absolutely exhausted.

"Alaric?" She said, her eyes falling on his half-naked body in confusion as she closed the door behind her. "What are you doing here?"

Alaric stared at her, his mind working furiously to try and pluck an excuse out of the air. For what other reason could he have been half-naked in her room, his clothes strewn all over the floor.

As if she had been able to read his mind, Katelyn's gaze fell on the clothes on the floor. She looked back up at Alaric in suspicion, he could see her putting it all together, when Isobel came out of the ensuite wrapped in a towel. She stopped short when she saw Katelyn stood there.

"Katelyn!" She exclaimed in shock, glancing nervously towards me. "We were, uh, just…"

Isobel looked at me helplessly. Alaric saw the answer click in Katelyn's eyes.

"Kate," he began, not sure what he was going to say.

"Yeah, I got it." Katelyn snapped. Without waiting to hear anymore, Katelyn turned on her heel and slammed out of the room.

Alaric pulled on his clothes from the floor and raced out of the room after Katelyn, leaving Isobel alone in their room.

He searched the campus from top to bottom, going back and forth in search of Katelyn to no avail. He even went back to their room to see if she had gone back. Isobel informed him that she had not seen Katelyn either.

Sighing, he headed over to library in the hope of losing himself in his work. Despite the fact he had spent the night with Isobel and, to put it lightly, immensely enjoyed himself, he still loved Katelyn. Though she might not realise it, Katelyn was everything to him.

Surprisingly, he eventually found Katelyn in the library. She'd obviously decided to shower elsewhere instead of using the ensuite that her and Isobel shared for her hair had been washed and pulled up into a ponytail and all her makeup had been washed away. She was wearing a grey hoody and leggings and was curled up in the far corner of the library, seemingly engrossed in a book. She looked more childlike and vulnerable than Alaric had ever seen her. She didn't look up from the book as Alaric approached, or when he sat down next to her, or when he tried to speak to her. She completely ignored him.

"Katelyn, please talk to me." He begged her, his eyes fixated on her stone cold expression. She ignored him.

"Kate?" Nothing.

He took her hand and attempted to thread his fingers between hers. She snatched her hand away with a glare, but still, she didn't speak.

"I'm so sorry. Really, I am." He paused, he'd never known her to be so cold. "Kate, I love you."

Without a word, or even a glance in Alaric's direction, Katelyn put down the book she'd been reading, stood up and walked away leaving Alaric on his own.


	2. Chapter 2

**Duke University, 2001**

Alaric tried as best he could to get Katelyn to talk to him but she had gotten into a habit of ignoring him. She seemed to be pretending that he didn't exist. After a week of this, Alaric went to Isobel. It was the first time he'd seen her after their encounter the last weekend and it was a little awkward.

"Has she spoken to you since…you know?" Alaric asked Isobel, sitting down heavily on Isobel's bed.

"No. She stays out late and leaves early in the morning to avoid me. If she sees me during the day, she acts like I'm not there." Isobel replied sadly, sitting down next to Alaric.

"You know what? I need to talk to her somewhere where she can't just ignore me or run away." He thought for a moment. "When she comes in, could you send me a message or something so that I can come over and try and get her to speak to me?"

"Sure, of course. I wouldn't get too excited, though. Katelyn's stubborn."

"I know. She hasn't spoken to me for a week, not even to yell at me or to tell me she hates me. She just exudes this cold, angry silence." Alaric stood up, not wanting to discuss the subject anymore. "Just, let me know when she comes in."

Isobel nodded with a sympathetic smile and Alaric left. He walked slowly back to his own dorm, keeping an eye out for Katelyn, but she was nowhere to be seen.

It was late, almost half past 12 when he received a message from Isobel. He opened the message eagerly to find the words: She's here.

Alaric paused only to check his reflection in the mirror. He ran his hand over his jaw, wincing at the stubble there, but he didn't have time to shave now. With one final, critical glance, he slammed out of his room, not even taking care not to wake his own roommate.

He arrived in their dorm building in time to find Isobel leaving it.

"Hey," she said as he approached.

"Hey, where are you going?"

"Oh, well I figured I'd give you guys some privacy, I've got some reading to catch up on so…"

Alaric gave a half-hearted smile. "Thank you, Isobel." he said before rushing off. He was so preoccupied in winning back Katelyn that he didn't notice the wistful way in which Isobel stared after him.

He could see the light under Katelyn's door, which was a good sign, she was still awake. That didn't surprise him, he'd never known her to go sleep before 3am.

He took a deep breath, there was a good chance Katelyn wouldn't talk to him, she hadn't all week, why would she start now? But he had to try.

He knocked firmly on the door and stood back a little. After a few moments, the door swung open to reveal Katelyn dressed in nothing but a vest top her underwear and her hair fell to her waist in waves. In spite of himself, he let his eyes drift downwards, taking in her full appearance. He was still at a loss to understand how he'd managed to score someone like Katelyn. As soon as she saw Alaric, she made to close the door, but Alaric had been ready for that. Before she could close it, he wedged his foot between the door and the doorframe, forcing it back open.

"Katelyn, please! Please just talk to me!"

Katelyn glared at him for a moment before letting go of the door. She walked over to her bed, lay down and picked up a magazine. Alaric closed the door behind him, thankful that she'd at least let him in. It wasn't much but it was progress.

Pushing his luck, Alaric sat down on the end of Katelyn's bed, watching her as she read her magazine, seemingly oblivious to the situation.

"Katelyn, I know you're angry with me, bu-" Alaric paused, Katelyn had put down her magazine and, without looking at him, had stood up and was making as if to leave. With a sigh of frustration, Alaric got up and grabbed her by the upper arms.

"Katelyn, stop it! I know that you're mad at me but you can't just pretend that I don't exist! I hurt you, I get it!"

"You didn't hurt me!" Katelyn hissed, finally breaking her vow of silence. "I don't care what you do in your spare time!" She pulled herself out of his grasp and stormed back over to her bed where she sat against the wall, pulling her knees up under her chin.

"Yes, you do care, Kate. Otherwise you wouldn't have spent this past week acting as if I'm invisible." Alaric sat down beside her, resting his head against the wall as he watched her.

She looked down so that her hair swung forward, hiding her face. "No I don't." She murmured stubbornly. Alaric suppressed a laugh, she sounded about 5 years old.

"Hey," he said softly, placing his hand beneath her chin and bringing her face around to his. "I'm sorry."

"Why did you sleep with her?" Katelyn looked at him properly for the first time in seven days. Her eyes were wide and he could see the hurt in them, despite her protest that she didn't care.

"Katelyn, you've slept with at least 3 different people in the last 3 weeks. Not including me." Alaric replied, half amused. He hated it when Katelyn spent her nights with other guys, but he didn't let on. He didn't want to let her know exactly how much power she had over him.

"That's different!" She protested. "They weren't your roommate."

Alaric sighed, she was such a hypocrite, but he didn't want to make her any madder than she already was.

Alaric, wanting nothing more than to have her forgive him, leaned in very slowly, holding her gaze as he did. She watched him silently before leaning backwards. He supposed that was her way of 'playing hard to get'. He reached out and took hold of both of her hands and pulled, bringing her forwards. Katelyn, obviously tired of resisting, started to respond, albeit hesitantly. Her hands, which Alaric had placed on either side of him, started to slowly pull his t-shirt up. Alaric wound his arms around Katelyn's waist, pulling her closer. He brushed her hair to the side, exposing her neck. He leaned in, kissing along Katelyn's jaw line until he got to her ear. He tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

"Am I forgiven?" He whispered, his other hand running down her leg.

"No." She murmured back, a small sigh of content escaping her lips as Alaric began to kiss down her neck. He knew it'd be a while until she forgave him completely, he knew that her giving in to him at that moment was merely a product of desire, it was highly likely that she would start being cold with him tomorrow and for a few days after that until she'd gotten over him sleeping with Isobel.

Speaking of Isobel, he hoped that she would not return home any time soon, given the fact that if Isobel returned, so would Katelyn's bad mood.

Pushing all thoughts of Isobel from his mind, Alaric continued on his quest for Katelyn's forgiveness.

She pulled his shirt up over his head and threw it to the floor. Her hands crept up his chest, stopping only when she reached his neck. She wound her arms around his neck and brushed her lips very lightly against his, sending thrills of electricity through his bloodstream, once, twice, three times before turning it into a proper kiss.

Alaric pushed Katelyn down so that she was lying down and positioned himself on top of her. He pressed his lips to her neck again causing the quietest of moans to issue from her slightly parted lips. He used his free hand to trail down her chest and then her stomach to the bottom of her top. Before he could begin to pull her top up, the door to room opened and in came Isobel.

The pair of them shot up into a sitting position as the cold air from the corridor seeped into the room, wiping away any traces of the mood that had enveloped the pair of them before.

"I see you guys sorted things out." Isobel said, the faintest of smirks playing on her mouth. Alaric glanced at Katelyn who was now wearing the same cold expression she had when Alaric had first arrived.

"We haven't sorted out anything." Katelyn snapped, pushing Alaric away from her and drawing her knees up underneath her chin and wrapping her arms around them again.


	3. Chapter 3

**Duke University, 2001**

Alaric reached for his shirt hastily and pulled it back on. He glanced at Katelyn who was sat rigidly against the headboard of her bed, staring straight ahead. He turned back to Isobel who seemed to have sensed the awkwardness - which wasn't hard - and had busied herself in the ensuite. Alaric turned back to Katelyn. He reached out to touch her but she pushed his hand away.

"What did I do?" He muttered angrily, hoping Isobel wouldn't hear.

"This was a mistake." Katelyn muttered without looking at him, turning her face away from him.

"Hey…hey," he tried to get her to look at him, but she was adamant. He leant as close to her as possible without invading her personal space. "This was not a mistake, Kate."

"Yes it was." She murmured, still averting her gaze.

He stared at her in disbelief. Never had he met someone who could make him hate them so much but at the same time fall even deeper in love.

"Hey, you know what? I'm going to stay in my friends room tonight. Her roommate is out of town so I'll give you guys some space." Came Isobel's voice. They both turned to face her, she was watching them warily. Katelyn didn't respond, she looked at Isobel for a few moments before sulking again. Alaric mouthed 'thank you' to which Isobel nodded and left the room. He turned back to Katelyn. She was sulking, like a child. Reaching the end of his tether, Alaric grabbed both of her hands and pulled her out of the rigid position she was sitting in. She tried to pull her hands from his grasp but Alaric was too strong for her.

"I want you to listen to me, Katelyn." He demanded, holding her gaze. Katelyn made to turn away, but Alaric wasn't having it. "No, Kate, I mean it. Listen to me."

Reluctantly, Katelyn stopped struggling against him and relaxed.

"I love you," Katelyn stared at him, her expression unreadable. "Dammit, Kate. I fucking love you. You don't have to say it back because I know that you don't but just know that I do, ok?"

Katelyn looked as if she was going to say something but decided against it. She nodded, tearing her gaze away from Alaric's.

Alaric felt a definite downward spiral in his mood. He had hoped that this confession would have sparked something other than a nod from her. With a sigh, he got up from her bed.

"I'll see you around, Katelyn." He turned away from her and made to leave the room when she spoke.

"Don't go." Alaric turned and watched her as she stood up. She took his hand and threaded her fingers through his. "I'm not going to say it back, because I'm still mad at you," she smiled slightly. "Bu-"

Whatever she had been about to say never made it out of her mouth because Alaric had suddenly pressed his lips to hers in an urgent kiss. Their movements, in contrast to before, were passionate, forceful, almost aggressive whereas before they'd been hesitant, slow and gentle.

They, somehow, made it to the bed. Alaric pushed Katelyn down and, just as he had before, positioned himself on top of her. Somewhere in between pulling his shirt and then her own off, Katelyn whispered the words 'I love you,' in Alaric's ear. She said it so quietly that Alaric wondered whether he'd misheard her.

They were awoken in the morning by the sound of a phone ringing. Groaning, they both sat up, detangling themselves from one another. It was Katelyn's phone that was ringing so with ill grace, she grabbed her phone from the bedside table.

"Hello?" She answered, her voice hoarse from lack of use.

Alaric, who was sat slightly behind her, leant forward and brushed her hair aside before pressing his lips to her shoulder. He made his way from his shoulder to her neck, trying to distract her from the phone call. Katelyn seemed to enjoy it at first until something that whoever was calling her said caused her to freeze.

"What?" She said, her voice loosing it's care-free tone.

Alaric couldn't hear what was being said on the other end of the phone, but from the way Katelyn's expression morphed into one of horror, he guessed it couldn't be good.

He waited patiently until she'd hung up to ask her what was wrong. She stared at him for a moment before turning away and getting out of the bed. "I have to go." She said, grabbing some clothes from her wardrobe before heading into the ensuite.

"Go where?" Alaric called after her, picking his clothes up from the floor.

Katelyn didn't answer, she probably hadn't heard him over the running water of the shower. After a few minutes, she emerged, fully dressed with damp hair.

"Where do you have to go?" Alaric asked again, walking across the room to her and making to stroke her hair.

Katelyn, having not noticed this gesture, moved away and started to shove various items in a bag.

"You should go." She said without looking at him.

For the second time in two days, Alaric stared at her in utter disbelief, was she really going to do that again?

"That's it? That's all you have to say?"

"Yes, Alaric! That's all I have to stay." She exclaimed, pulling on a jacket. She grabbed her phone off the bedside table and without a backwards glance, left the room. Alaric stared at the closed door, too incensed to move. After a moment, he let out a yell of frustration and kicked the bedside table, earning himself nothing but an excruciating pain in his foot.

Alaric heard nothing from Katelyn for at least a week and, as far as he knew, neither had anyone else.

Alaric found himself spending a great deal of time with Isobel. It was a nice change from hanging out with Katelyn, whose mood could change at the drop of a hat. She also seemed to understand his completely foolish feelings for Katelyn. He wondered, absent-mindedly, who she'd had feelings like that for.

"Did you meet Katelyn here?" Alaric asked her on the second day of Katelyn's absence.

"No, we went to the same high school."

"So you were friends already?"

"Not really. We were parts of different crowds." She paused for a moment. "Katelyn was part of the popular crowd, of course. Girlfriend of the school quarterback, of course, head cheerleader, all of that."

"She had a boyfriend in high school?" Alaric asked, having had a conversation of a similar sort with Katelyn a month or so back, and she'd told him that she hadn't.

"Yeah, his name was Mark. It made sense since he was the QB and she was the head cheerleader. Why?"

"She told me she never had a boyfriend in high school…" Alaric replied quietly.

"That's strange. They were together solidly for about 2 years before the broke up."

"Why did they break up?"

"No one knows. One day they were fine, the next Mark was getting it on with one of the other cheerleaders and Katelyn refused to be in the same room as him. Neither of them ever told anyone why."

Alaric considered this piece of information before letting himself grin. "How do you know all this if you guys weren't friends?"

"It's high school. Word gets around."

Alaric was silent, never had he dreamed he'd get into such a complicated relationship - if such a word could be applied to whatever was going on between he and Katelyn.

"I like you, Rick." Isobel's voice broke through his reverie. She was watching him closely with a slightly bitter expression.

"What?"

"You heard. I know that you love Katelyn, but I think you can do better. She'll never love you…but I think you already know that."

Alaric knew she was right. For months he'd put up with her constantly changing temperament. He'd put up with her partying and her infidelity because he had hoped that somewhere along the line she would learn to love him.

Alaric nodded. "I know."

"You can either continue the way you are and carry on being used as her toy, or you can stand up for yourself and make a stand. She needs to know that you are not hers for the taking."

Katelyn returned after 8 days of absence. She looked ill, as though she'd been out all night partying, which she probably had.

Alaric caught up with her outside the library. Her skin was pale and there were bags under her eyes like she hadn't had a good nights sleep in a while. She looked exactly like she did when she was hungover, except her makeup was smudged all over her face as it normally was after a night out because she wasn't wearing any.

"Hey, Katelyn." Alaric called, hurrying to catch up with her.

Katelyn turned her unsmiling face to Alaric. "Hi."

"Katelyn I need to talk to you." Alaric said, hastily deciding to take Isobel's advice and make a stand.

"I'm busy."

"I don't care."

With an impatient sight, Katelyn stopped walking and waited expectantly.

"You told me you loved me b-"

"No, I didn't." Katelyn cut in without letting him finish in a flat voice.

"Yes, you did." Alaric replied with a frown. She had told him that she loved him, he'd heard her.

"No. I didn't."

"Kate, I heard you!"

"You heard wrong."

Alaric opened his mouth a couple of times, but no sound came out. She was lying to his face. Downright lying.

"You're lying." He hissed angrily, trying to keep his voice down in order to keep their conversation out of the ears of any gossips that might have been lurking.

"No, Alaric, I'm not. I don't love you and I never have." Without waiting for Alaric to react, Katelyn walked off, leaving him stood by himself, unable to move. He felt as though Katelyn had ripped his heart from his chest. The way she'd spoken to him with such cold finality, it was as though she didn't care, not one bit. So this was what heartbreak felt like, he thought to himself. He felt numb.


	4. Chapter 4

**Grove Hill, Present Day**

Alaric sat in a small bar in Grove Hill, drowning his sorrows with a glass of bourbon. He'd opted for a bar that way a little way away from Mystic Falls in order to avoid the sympathies of the residents of Mystic Falls.

He downed the amber liquid in his glass, relishing the feeling of it going to his head, numbing the pain of Jenna's death. Not only had his girlfriend been turned into a vampire by Klaus, she'd also been staked and killed for the purpose of breaking the curse. He cursed under his breath, they'd all thought that by keeping Jenna in the dark, they'd been protecting her. Their 'protection' had got her killed.

Alaric ordered himself another drink, intending to drink himself into unconsciousness. First his wife, and now his girlfriend. Would his life never be free of the terror that vampires brought? He thought back to the early days of his and Isobel's relationship. Her studies had seemed harmless, he'd never have believed that all her research about the vampires and the werewolves could have been true. It was a simpler time.

If he was feeling bad, it surely couldn't compare to how Elena and Jeremy were feeling. Not only had they lost their parents, Isobel(in Elena's case, despite the fact that Isobel hadn't exactly been what could be categorised as a 'good mother' ), Jenna and John. They literally had no one but each other.

Alaric downed the last of his bourbon, irritated that he still wasn't drunk enough to feel numb, when a peal of laughter reached his ears. His first thought was to turn around and tell whoever it was to shut the hell up, but after a moment, he realised that the laughter sounded oddly familiar to his ears.

He turned his head to find a youngish business man attempting to woo a young girl. From what he could see, the girl had long, dark, hair and was finding the guys attempts to woo her amusing. Alaric couldn't think why on earth he'd find her laughter familiar, until she leant forward. Her eyes were startling green and her features were all too familiar. She didn't look a day older than the last time Alaric had seen her. She still looked 21. It was Katelyn. The girl he'd been infatuated with in his first year of college, until of course he and Isobel had got together. He hadn't spoke to Katelyn since the day she'd coldly informed him that she didn't love him and that she never had, and he had no desire to speak to her now. He was sure that she'd still be as cold and distant with him as she had been then.

Alaric didn't look away fast enough and Katelyn noticed him staring. With a smirk she let her gaze lock on his. It was a few seconds before realisation set in, and the smirk fell off her face in shock.

"Are you ok?" Her date asked, noticing the look of utter shock that had wiped away her smirk.

"I'm fine." She tore her gaze away from Alaric's and back to the young man. She murmured something in his ear that Alaric couldn't hear and with a nod, the man left the bar.

Katelyn watched him go before turning back to the bar.

"Alaric." She said in acknowledgement.

"Katelyn." Alaric replied, raising his glass.

"Are you drunk?"

"Not nearly as much as I should be."

She slid side wards and seated herself on the barstool next to Alaric.

"You're the last person I'd have expected to see here." She said, eyeing the empty glass in his hand.

"You're the last person I'd have expected to see ever." Alaric replied, slurring his words very slightly. His gaze drifted ever so casually over her body. She was wearing a short black dress and heels, she looked good. Alaric thought he was being subtle until Katelyn snapped "When you've finished checking me out," His eyes snapped back up to meet hers.

"You never used to mind."

She ignored this remark. "Feel like telling me why you're sat in a bar, alone, drinking yourself to death?"

Alaric laughed. "You wouldn't believe me even if I told you."

Katelyn raised an eyebrow as though she didn't believe this but didn't pursue the matter.

"And do you, Katelyn, feel like telling me why you don't look a day over 21?"

Katelyn grinned. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Touché."

Alaric watched Katelyn closely as she turned away to order herself a drink. She seemed to have matured vastly since college. It seemed as though those irrational tantrums had stopped, anyway.

"How's Isobel?" Katelyn asked bitterly.

"Dead."

Katelyn stared at me in disbelief. "She's dead!"

Alaric nodded carelessly. Isobel didn't mean anything to him anymore, she'd given up their marriage for a life as a vampire. Bitch.

"I'm so sorry, Rick."

"Don't be. It was years ago."

"Yeah, but still."

He watched her take her drink from the bar and take a sip. She still held all of the allure she'd had 10 years ago, if not more. Alaric was no longer the pushover he had been in college and she was no longer the childish party-goer that had broken his heart.

"Oh, Kate," he began drunkenly. He knew he'd regret getting onto the subject in the morning, but who the hell cared. "Why didn't you love me?"

Katelyn looked at him for a moment, he saw a flash of pity in her eyes. "I did."

"No you didn't, you told me you didn't." He replied, waving his glass at her.

Katelyn took the glass from his hand and set it down on the bar. "Come on," She took his hand and pulled him down from the bar stool. He lurched a little but was surprisingly steady on his feet otherwise.

"What are you doing?" He asked as she pulled him through the room towards the exit.

"I am taking you home."

"I don't want to go home!" Alaric protested. "I want to stay out all night."

"I didn't say you had a choice."

"You don't know where I live." He muttered, wincing as the cold air hit his face.

"I didn't say we were going to your home."

Katelyn managed to steer Alaric back to her apartment. He noticed, somewhat distantly, that she seemed unnaturally strong. After locking the door behind them, Katelyn guided Alaric into the living room where he fell down onto the sofa. He held out his hand, gazing at her. She took it hesitantly and he pulled her down next to him. He got the feeling that if she'd have wanted to resist, she'd have been more than capable.

"Why didn't you love me?" He asked again, reaching over to brush her hair back.

"We are not having this conversation."

"Bu-"

"Go to sleep, Alaric." She looked him full in the eyes and Alaric didn't seem able to disobey. Was she…compelling him? He stared at her in disbelief before his eyes crashed shut.

Alaric woke in the morning with a start, sprawled out on Katelyn's sofa. Katelyn was sat in an armchair flicking through the channels on the tv.

"Good morning, sweetheart." She said without taking her eyes off the tv.

He groaned and put a hand to his head as he sat up.

"Hangover?"

He nodded, immediately regretting this action as the pain in his head increased.

He remembered little from the night before. The main moments that stood out were Katelyn's appearance and him trying, unsuccessfully, to convince Katelyn to tell him why she didn't love him.

Katelyn had changed out of the dress she was wearing last night and was now dressed in jeans and a vest top.

"You want a drink?"

"Please." His voice was hoarse and cracked. Katelyn got up and poured him a glass of water.

"Thanks," Alaric said gratefully, taking the glass from her and taking a large swig.

"So, you ready to tell me why you were drinking yourself to death alone?" Katelyn asked him.

"Only if you're ready to tell me why you didn't love me."

"Seriously? You're still on that? I told you, I did love you."

Alaric narrowed his eyes and took another swig from his water. "So why, then, did you tell me that you didn't?"

Katelyn bit down on her lip, he couldn't read her expression but he was sure that she wouldn't divulge.

"You remember the day I got a phone call and had to leave?"

Alaric nodded.

"That was my mom, my dad had been in an accident…it wasn't too serious but they wanted me there, just in case. Anyway, turns out my dad's injuries were more serious than they'd first thought and he died." She said it lightly but Alaric could see the pain in her eyes. "I was hurting and I just wanted to be alone. My feelings for you already scared me, I didn't want to be tied down to some guy, but at the same time I didn't want to be alone, but after my dad died I just, couldn't handle my feelings. That day I was angry, grieving and just downright miserable and I took it out on you and by the time I'd pulled myself together you were with Isobel."

"I loved you," Alaric said gruffly, looking down to hide his face. "I loved you so much, despite your tantrums and your drug and alcohol misuse and your utter absurdity."

"I was so wrong for you, Alaric. I was damaged goods, I turned to the alcohol and the drugs and the altogether childish attitude to block everything out, but I couldn't seem to block you out." She smiled lightly.

"Why? What happened?"

"Another time." Katelyn said shortly, getting up from the chair. She made her way over to the kitchen.

Ignoring the pain in his head, Alaric got up and followed her. He grabbed her hand and pulled her back, turning her around to face him.

They found themselves stood mere inches apart, a little more close than what was socially acceptable. After a moment of staring at each other as if daring the other to make the first move, Alaric leaned in. Katelyn turned her head to the side, away from Alaric's advanced.

"Don't…" She murmured.

"Please, Kate. I just want to forget everything that's happened in the past week. I want the pain to stop. Help me, please." He rested his forehead against hers, waiting for her reply.

With a resigned sigh, Katelyn surrendered.


End file.
